Saving our Future

 

In the world we live in today on planet Earth, a lot of things have happened this year with the biggest event of all is the coronavirus pandemic. But it is also because of the pandemic that another cause that pose a threat to our planet is currently happening but people never really paid attention to and that is the wreckage of our ecosystems. We must save our planet if it’s the last we do. 

Water pollution, deforestation and air pollution are one of the common problems that causes our oceans and beautiful landscapes to be damaged. With animal extinction and endangered animals are at play, Plastic waste and garbage made by us are dumped into the seas and oceans, resulting into destruction of corals, killing of important marine life, and degrading of water quality. In 2019, the global production of plastics reached 368 million metric tons, with 57.9 million metric tons of that amount produced in Europe alone. China is one of the largest producers of plastics in the world, accounting for more than one quarter of the global production. Plastic imports into the United States are steadily increasing, with China being the top supplier. China's plastic exports have grown considerably in the past decade, with an export value of 14.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2009, increasing to 48.3 billion U.S. dollars by 2019. The world generates 2.01 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste annually, with at least 33 percent of that—extremely conservatively—not managed in an environmentally safe manner. Worldwide, waste generated per person per day averages 0.74 kilogram but ranges widely, from 0.11 to 4.54 kilograms. Though they only account for 16 percent of the world’s population, high-income countries generate about 34 percent, or 683 million tonnes, of the world’s waste that are dumped onto our land. global waste is expected to grow to 3.40 billion tonnes by 2050, more than double population growth over the same period. As we look at these statistics, it is only right to say that we should act now before it’s too late. A solution to combat the huge numbers would be ecological restoration and to celebrate World Environment Day 2021.

Ecological restoration is the process of reclaiming habitat and ecosystem functions by restoring the lands and waters on which plants and animals depend. Restoration is a corrective step that involves eliminating or modifying causes of ecological degradation and re-establishing the natural processes — like natural fires, floods, or predator-prey relationships — that sustain and renew ecosystems over time. Even if all remaining wildlands in the United States were protected today, species decline would continue because of habitat destruction that's already occurred. Thus, alongside unyielding ecosystem defense and tenacious endangered species protection, an effective restoration strategy is critical to addressing the extinction crisis. With the solution at hand, many benefits are put on the table. Our well-being, increase of biodiversity, opportunity to protect endangered animals and increasing population of species to prevent extinction are one of the many benefits that ecological restoration can give us. Our world will slowly,but surely be able to improve the ecosystems of our planet. 

References:

Ecosystem Restoration (biologicaldiversity.org)

Trends in Solid Waste Management (worldbank.org)

• Global plastic production 1950-2019 | Statista